The Revitalization of the Peace Movement

I recently returned from an inspiring and productive sister-city delegation to East Timor (watch this site for more news, including announcements of public reports back).

I came back to the U.S. about a week after the now-famous peace vigil outside Bush's Crawford ranch had begun. To be honest, I was a little skeptical at many media outlets' claims that Cindy Sheehan's protest had revitalized the peace movement.

Of course, I was happy that major media were recognizing the existence of the U.S. peace movement. But we've been opposing the occupation of Iraq since before the (official) U.S. invasion! And we've been here ever since - it's just that reporters, for the most part, were suddenly regaining interest in us. I chalked up the Crawford vigil's media coverage to the seemingly-inescapable reporting conventions which often distort the news - the tendency to put things in personal terms, to present little or no context, to focus on "leaders" instead of movements. (To be fair, there was also a liberal PR firm involved that put the story in those terms.)

Then, I sat down to update this website, including the news and events pages. And I was really impressed by the upcoming peace events - the Camp Casey Caravan tonight at the Barrymore, Kids for Peace next weekend, the ongoing work for a Bring the Troops Home Now referendum in Madison - not to mention the September 24 national peace rally in Washington DC and annual events like next Saturday's Fighting Bob Fest. (See more info and links on our events page or on the Madison Area Peace Coalition's website.)

Perhaps the peace movement has become revitalized. It certainly makes me hopeful.

And thank goodness for some good news. The fight over Supreme Court nominations just doubled, with Chief Justice Rehnquist's death yesterday. And the devastation from Hurricane Katrina is truly heartbreaking - some are now estimating more than 10,000 dead in Louisiana alone!

Our news page links to several stories about Katrina's aftermath, focusing on politics and race. But I'd like to add here two links on how you can donate to help the predominantly poor and Black people who were ignored and left to fend for themselves for far too long:

• Network for Good has a comprehensive list of organizations working to help the hurricane victims; and


• The People's Institute is a New Orleans-based grassroots, anti-racist organization focused on community organizing that could really use some help.